Top 10 Cheapest to Insure 2012 Model Year Cars Under $20,000

Under $20,000 AND Cheap to Insure

For most new car consumers, the sticker price is the most important factor as we shop for a vehicle. As the economy still struggles to regain its footing, an increasing number of drivers are setting their sights on vehicles that cost under $20,000.

While that is quite understandable, we’d recommend folks consider the cost of insuring these inexpensive vehicles, too. That’s because the dozens of dollars of monthly savings earned by shopping more frugally could be offset almost immediately by selecting a vehicle that is relatively expensive to insure.So we leveraged the CoverHound platform to bring the top 10 cheapest to insure 2012-model-year cars under $20,000. Click through to read about all 10 picks.

9. Ford Fiesta SEL ($117.72). Like the Kia Soul, the Fiesta qualified for our list covering the cheapest-to-insure 2012-model-year cars and minivans. Along with the car’s low sticker price, insurance carriers are learning to love the sedan’s seven standard airbags. Smaller medical bills equal smaller claims.8. Hyundai Elantra Touring GLS ($117.50). The 2012 Touring has managed to avoid being the subject of any recalls, which plague even some of the best cars on this list. Carriers of course like this integrity of design. The Touring also has an extremely long powertrain warranty -- 10 years or 100,000 miles -- which insurers like because drivers often shop around for new (or less thorough) car insurance policies at the end of their cars’ warranties. Will the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT fare as well as the 2012 Elantra Touring? We'll see.7. Scion xB ($112.41). The boxy Scion is an ace when it comes to safety ratings and reliability. Not surprisingly, it scores very high in rollover ranking (4 out of 5 stars) from the NHTSA -- on top of a Top Safety Pick honor from the IIHS. The large amount of passenger space also makes it popular with young families.6. Mazda5 ($110.48). A minivan makes the list! Sure, it’s small relative to other minivans, but it’s still a minivan. The Mazda5 makes the list because of its superior handling for its class. Excellent handling for a minivan is attractive to carriers because minivans’ intrinsic attraction to families; the Mazda5 has three rows of seats, enough to drive around many children very safely.5. Ford Fiesta SES ($107.97). The Fiesta is widely regarded as an excellent affordable small car. Additionally it has not been the subject of any recalls, which immediately raise the neck hairs of insurers around the country. Those facts, combined with its impressive safety rankings place the Fiesta (an SES hatchback here) high on the list.4. Nissan Cube ($101.44). Similar to the Scion xB (see above) in exterior styling, the Cube is even less expensive to insure, possibly because of its long list of safety features that include electronic stability control and side-curtain airbags.3. Volkswagen Jetta ($101.12). The Jetta is the favorite of the young urban professional set, a demographic that tends to boast lots of formal education -- and we now know that carriers give a bit of a preference to those folks. This subsection of the population also tends to be married and have children, which can save drivers up to 29 percent on insurance according to our data.2. Honda Civic ($98.19). The Civic gets excellent safety ratings, but perhaps the qualities many like in Civics -- consistency, dependability -- are also what gives insurers comfort. They know just what they’re getting with the Civic; they have actuarial tables full of historical data; and though the car gets updated every few years, it is what is and that helps carriers rest comfortably at night.1. Chevrolet Sonic LS. ($96.16 a month). This affordable small car heads the list because of its almost impeccable safety scores. The IIHS awarded the Sonic its highest ranking of “Good” on all four major strength and impact tests. Additionally, the Sonic garnered five-star ratings in the NHTSA’s frontal and side crash tests plus a four-star rating in the rollover test, respectable results for a vehicle of any price point.What’s CoverHound? It’s a company committed to building the first brand in insurance shopping that users can actually trust. Consumers can use CoverHound to calculate their personal insurance needs, learn more about top providers — and easily buy the right policy at the right price. Be sure to check out the CoverHound blog for more fun and informative posts.

Sounds like folks are experiencing rates that are all over the map. I pay $125/month for my 2013 Jeep Wrangler, and I've read in many sources that the Wrangler is among the most expensive to insure due to low crash test ratings for side impact. One of the cars listed above would cost me around $80 or $90/month to insure. I guess it all depends where you live, in addition to driver age, gender, and # of years licensed. I'm located in Canada where auto insurance is mandatory, no exceptions. It's a complete racket and the major insurance firms have us over a barrel. I heard once that there are some states in the US where insurance is optional. Is that true and/or still the case?

Thanks for reading the piece. The rates are averages. Some people will pay a lot less (like people with perfect driving records) and others a lot more (like people with several DUIs) to insure the same car. Since they are all averages, the data points should be clean in terms of giving you an idea of the cheapest cars to insure across all type of consumers.

I live in South Carolina. I have a clean driving record, so I'm assuming it's my age since I'm only 20, almost 21. My rate with progressive was $2,700 every 6 months, so I switched to Geico and I'm now paying $1,440 every 6 months.